Make no mistake, 2003 was a year that many PR practitioners would like to forget. For an industry that had begun to find its feet again by the end of 2002, the double whammy of Sars and war hit the nascent recovery hard.
Unsurprisingly, many agencies took evasive action. Much of the subtlety that had seen increased practice development and the sophisticated creation of second-tier brands to avoid client conflicts fell by the wayside as cost-cutting became the order of the day.
Amid the rubble, however, some positives burned bright. The China market sustained its buoyant growth, and PR continued to drift ever upwards on the country's corporate agenda.
As more Chinese companies went to market, investor relations increased in visibility, attracting interest from the world's leading players.
Strong consumer sentiment also ensured a healthy return for consumer practices, in marked contrast to other Asian markets.
However, global and regional networks also began to witness the corollary to China's growth; spiralling competition, from aggressive local players. Indeed the question of 'international versus local', may soon be simply replaced by 'good versus bad'.
In India, meanwhile, budgets continued to grow. Virtually all leading global PR firms now have a presence of some form in the country, and how the country's local shops respond to this foreign influx remains a topic of considerable interest.
In terms of practice areas, the recovery of the tech sector continued at a steady pace. Healthcare also took centre stage, thanks in part to the succession of health crises that bedeviled the region, from Sars to bird flu to Japanese encephalitis.
North Asia saw reasonable growth in public affairs and government relations, particularly during the latter part of the year.
As the Media PR rankings illustrate, furthermore, the best Asian agencies did not stand still during 2003. Rather, they looked at how they could compete more effectively in a shifting landscape, and heeded the call from clients to work smarter.
Talent development became a more pressing priority and, in a year where big pitches were few and far between, the networks began to look at how to extend and strengthen existing relationships.
The next stage may well be to improve the quality of research and insights emanating from the region, areas that appear to have been overlooked for some time now.
It is also worth noting that much of the gloom enveloping the industry began to dissipate towards the end of the year - with many agencies recording a positive final quarter.
Interestingly, the year's 'crises' also pushed PR more firmly into the spotlight, thanks to the inadequate communications that often accompanied these issues.
More than ever, Asian business is aware of the need to engage with all of its stakeholder groups, be they a less-subservient media, more activist-minded consumer organisations or newly-empowered employees.
The hope, of course, is that the region's PR industry can leverage this awareness to improve its own performance and reputation.
As the PR rankings demonstrate, there is much world-class work being done in Asia - but the need for the industry to communicate its abilities effectively must still be a priority.
ASIA-PACIFIC'S PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCIES:
A round-up of achievements and growth in 2003, a year of two halves for the industry
APCO ASIA
APCO retained its position as Asia's leading government relations agency with some solid wins, but did little else to inspire during 2003. Big wins saw the network bag the Global Brand Protection Foundation and Dow Corning accounts, and smaller local ones included Invest Hong Kong, Daimler-Chrysler China and ETS in China. Under regional CEO Richard Burn, the agency's China practice continued its impressive growth, but both Hong Kong and Indonesia dropped staff. In addition, little in the way of award wins or network initiatives was forthcoming. Expect greater progress once Grey's stake is successfully bought out.
BRODEUR WORLDWIDE
Brodeur saw impressive regional growth in 2003, tying up with new partners in Australia, Taiwan and India. In addition, its Korean office continued to impose a presence on the market, under the guidance of Young Sohn. All told, the agency boasted of over 50 retainer wins in 2003; of these, Yahoo Hong Kong, Fuji Xerox Australia and Tenaga Nasional Berhad Malaysia were key. The agency fared less well in terms of awards and staffing, with significant hires only apparent in India.
BURSON-MARSTELLER
Media's PR network of the year in 2003 was a deserved winner, delivering on its reputation for regional public affairs and crisis communications. Indeed, the awards were a spectacular success for the agency, which also took home consultancy of the year and gongs for technology and business marcomms product and promotion, along with a slew of certificates of excellence. The network saw strong account wins during the year, including Hewlett-Packard, Diageo and the Hong Kong Government. Its public affairs wins stood out, but the agency also bagged creditable Australian healthcare accounts in the form of Novartis and Johnson & Johnson. Internal training remained a priority during 2003 with continued investment in the B-M University, a leadership training initiative for senior executives.
EDELMAN
Asia's leading independent continued its recovery under regional president Alan VanderMolen, combining good hires with sound account wins. Martin Alintuck arrived to head the China operation, while Jo Soo added muscle to Hong Kong's technology practice. Corporate accounted for much of the wins, as the agency completed its departure from the consumer sector. Microsoft's regional account was an impressive feather in the agency's cap, while a strong showing in Korea saw wins in the shape of Kia Motors and Standard & Poor's. The China operation also exhibited signs of growth, illustrated in the PMC Sierra and Shui On wins.
FLEISHMAN-HILLARD
A strong showing for Fleishman-Hillard in 2003, let down only by a relatively poor awards haul. Big wins came in the form of Maxtor's regional account, along with Procter & Gamble Japan, AIG Hong Kong and China, and Global Asset Management Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the agency recruited Lisa Howard to oversee regional talent development and also added a new regional financial director with Peter Ng. Fleishman's China operation also benefited from a tie-up with local shop, Pegasus Communications, and the agency also announced a useful alliance with TNS on the research front.
GOLIN/HARRIS INTERNATIONAL
Plagued by questions over its increasing integration with Weber Shandwick, 2003 was not a great year for Golin/Harris. Thin account activity was offset by some impressive network initiatives and, in particular, an excellent awards haul - which included gold awards for research and financial. The big-ticket account win was DHL in four markets, supported by increased work from Sunday Communications, Hongkong Land and the US Cotton Council. In addition, the agency secured Daimler-Chrysler as its flagship Thailand client and opened its first office in the country. Its Asian Trust Survey, which surveyed attitudes towards corporations in four Asia markets, also won plaudits.
HILL & KNOWLTON
With the agency refusing to submit its rankings form, an extrapolated score was always likely to underplay its 2003 performance. Bright spots included strong network initiatives, which included a strengthened crisis and issues practice, and implementing region-wide staff training programmes. H&K's awards haul was mediocre, consisting of one finalist nod - and little information on new business wins could be accurately ascertained. Krispy Kreme Australia represented a major slice of business, although the year also saw H&K close its Melbourne business in favour of a tie-up with Royce.
THE HOFFMAN AGENCY
While the technology sector remained stagnant in 2003, Hoffman's performance was underpinned by solid account wins and improvements to its regional model. The agency bagged the BEA Systems account in Japan, and also secured business from Proxim in China and Hong Kong, and Caspian Networks in Japan and Korea. A new client intranet was rolled out and the network shifted to a single profit and loss model for the entire region. There was little in the way of recognition at the PR Awards but, on the plus side, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to North Asia with a raft of senior hires.
OGILVY PUBLIC RELATIONS WORLDWIDE
Asia's largest PR agency continued its relentless progress in 2003, combining reasonable account wins with significant regional hires. Key among regional new business were the DuPont, UBS and Association for Investment Management and Research accounts, while multi-market wins included Asia Pulp & Paper, JP Morgan Investment & Private Banks, and Lexmark International. Significantly, the agency continued to broaden its offering. Kate Gace was lured away from a crisis and issues management role at Sara Lee Corporation to oversee international business, while James McGregor joined from the WTO. In addition, the agency rolled out a number of new training and development modules, and picked up campaign of the year for Parker & Partners' Emirates work.
RUDER FINN ASIA
Under the leadership of Louise Harris, Ruder Finn can take a number of positives away from 2003, not least its first Australian office. The agency also bagged the regional corporate BT account, to go with more traditional healthcare wins, including Pfizer in Australia and Roche Diagnostic and Janssen Cilag in China and Hong Kong, respectively. On the staffing front, headcount increased in China, with no noticeable downturn in its other markets. The agency also took home gold in the not-for-profit category and increased its investment in IT infrastructure and healthcare training, rounding out a generally impressive year.
TEXT 100
The tech recovery paid dividends for Text 100 during a year that saw considerable gains in account wins - illustrated by new IBM business in China and Japan, along with the Adobe account in Australia and Singapore and ARM in China and Japan. Other notable wins included BT and Xerox in India, and Nokia in India and Singapore. The formidable talent of Tarun Deo was rewarded with the new role of VP for new business development, while Melissa McEwan joined as APAC finance director. Its awards tally may have been on the light side but a restructuring and expanded China operation, along with an increased presence in Korea and Japan, pointed to an agency on the rise.
UPSTREAM ASIA
David Ketchum's agency continues to garner plaudits for its below-the-line leanings, and clients appeared to agree in 2003. Significant account activity included new business from Infineon, Factiva and Axway, along with an extension of existing relationships with eBay and EDS. Cautious expansion saw headcount increase across the board, and Upstream also added Australia, Malaysia and Japan to its regional offering. Singapore MD Susannah Archibald remained the only notable hire and the agency also suffered from a poor awards showing. All told, the agency performed creditably during 2003, and the ongoing tech recovery is likely to spur continued growth.
WEBER SHANDWICK
On balance, a solid year for the Interpublic agency - despite a mid-year nadir that saw its Hong Kong operation go through three managing directors in as many months. GE was the standout win in Japan and China, while new regional business from Siemens Mobile and Honeywell China helped to steady the ship. A revitalised healthcare practice, headed by Jill Mortensen and featuring new recruit Amanda Sefton, paid off - with GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer tapping the agency for multi-market work. To boot, an impressive awards night saw gold for consumer marketing communications. The worst appears to be over for Weber Shandwick, and a 92 per cent increase in China revenue bodes well for the future.
METHODOLOGY
The Media 2004 PR Rankings used four criteria to generate scores for participating firms: (1) New business; (2) People; (3) Network initiatives; and (4) Awards.
All scores were awarded out of nine.
The new business and people scores were calculated based on information provided by agencies, along with Media's own proprietary research.
Network initiatives were calculated according to information provided by agencies, while the awards score referred only to Asia's PR Week Awards 2003.
The scores were compiled by the Media editorial team, in association with R3 Asia-Pacific.
Agencies were requested to submit their 10 largest account wins of 2003, along with details on network size, headcount, and network initiatives. Billings were not disclosed.
Only networks holding over 51 per cent in offices in three separate markets were ranked. Of these, Manning Selvage & Lee, MDK, Ketchum Newscan and Porter Novelli declined to participate.
In addition, several agencies owned by US holding companies declined to provide headcount data. In these cases, data from industry estimates was used.